Lifeline
by gocubsgo17
Summary: 3rd in the Long Nights series. Problems spark between Booth and Bren and their marriage seems to be hanging on by a thread. But when Booth gets wrapped up in an international case, the lives of his wife and daughter hang in the balance.
1. Shut Out The Lights

**A/N: Takes place almost four years in August after **_**Love on the Inside**_**, making Drew six and Clara almost four. **

**In order, the fics in this series are: **_**Long Nights, Love on the Inside, **_**and this one, **_**Lifeline**_

* * *

"I don't want to fight with you anymore, Booth. I'm tired. Tired and I'm sure our yelling has probably woken up the kids. Can we just go to bed?"

He nodded. "We're not done, Bren. This fight isn't over," he mumbled as he pushed in his chair at the kitchen table, tugging at his tie and Bren put her coffee mug in the dishwasher. Silently, they climbed the stairs. Booth immediately went to their bedroom. Instead of following him, Bren went to check on Clara. The three year old had recently graduated to a 'big girl' bed. When Bren peeked in, the little girl's princess blankets were thrown back, revealing an empty bed. Rather than panicking, she followed the likely trail of her daughter to her son's room. Drew and Clara were fast asleep next to the air vent. Knowing what probably happened, she went in search for her husband.

"The next time we…argue, let's find another place to do so," Bren announced as she walked into their bed room. Booth, who was already in sleep pants and a t-shirt, looked up at her, confusion evident on his face.

"I need your help getting the kids back into their beds. I can take care of Clara, but Drew's too heavy for me now." Booth followed her out of the room and to Drew's, what used to be their old office. Booth stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene in front of him. It was eerily similar to moments from his childhood. His father would come home drunk with friends, eager to play a game of poker in the basement. Lizzie, when she was still around, had been brave enough to shoo away his father's drunken friends and make an attempt to calm him down. Yelling matches ensued, and two curious young Booth boys fell asleep next to the air vents, listening to their parents argue one floor below. Booth's heart ached for his son and daughter. He wondered how much they heard, how much they really understood what was going on between their parents.

Wordlessly, Booth scooped up Drew and hoisted him back into his bed, tucking in the Toy Story sheets around him while Bren lifted Clara and took her to Drew's old room. The nursery had been repainted pink and the evidence of baseballs, footballs and superheroes moved down the hall. Once in Clara's room, Bren held the little girl for a long time. She needed some comfort after the taxing argument she had just had with her husband and her daughter was just what she needed. Clara's little snores were the only sound that filled the room. Soon, she put Clara back in bed, whispered one last goodnight and slipped out of the room.

As she wiped away the tears that had fallen, Brennan went to their bedroom and put on her nightgown. When she climbed into bed, she rolled over on her side and turned off the bedside lamp, drowning the room in darkness. It was cold and the blankets did nothing to help. And as stubborn as she was, she refused to cross the vast sea between them to lay with her husband, who she knew would keep her warm.

* * *

The next day of work was a long one for both Brennan and Booth. Brennan and Zach spent their day identifying which bone belonged to which Ice Age warrior. Booth spent his downtime between cases catching up on paper work with his new partner, Teddy. Since his promotion to the Homicide division a few years back, Booth felt like he was spending more time doing paper work than catching murderers. Teddy's desk phone rang and he snatched it up, listening to the person on the other end.

"We have a case, Sarge. Sounds like a nasty one too."

They made their way out to the crime scene, supervised the techs with the forensic evidence and had the body sent back to the morgue. Back at their side-to-side desks in the bullpen, Booth and Teddy reviewed what they had so far.

"Female. Early twenties. Been dead only a couple of days," Teddy told him.

"Gunshot wound to the head. Nine mil," Booth added, "I had blood sent down to Marcus. He should be getting back to me soon. Hopefully, we'll have an ID on our girl by the end of the night."

"I'm running her face though the missing persons database now. Might get a hit soon," Parker said. And like magic, Teddy's computer beeped.

"Olga Lebedev. Twenty three. Moved here from Russia on a fiancée visa two years ago. Reported missing by her husband, John Lewis of Lewis and Northrup Law."

"Sounds like quite a pair," Booth mused.

"Let's go check him out."

* * *

The two intimidating agents strolled into the Lewis and Northrup Law offices like they owned the place.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" the bubbly secretary asked.

With a single glance at the other, Booth and Parker pulled out their badges and showed them to the secretary.

"Special Agents Seeley Booth and Edward Parker, FBI. We need to speak to John Lewis."

"Aw, I'm sorry. Mr. Lewis is on an important conference call at the moment. He asked not to be disturbed."

"You don't understand, Miss," Parker tried, pulling out his charm, "We have very serious, important information about his wife."

Her eyes widened and directed them to the conference room. Peeking though a small window, Booth and Teddy saw a lone man sitting at a large, oval conference table, talking to a little black speaker sitting near him on the table. Booth rapped a knuckle on the door and flashed his badge before the two walked into the room without an invite.

"I'll call you back," Lewis said, reaching for the speaker.

"Wait! Anton will not-" another voice said over the phone, but it was cut short as Lewis ended the call.

"Can I ask what is so important that you had to interrupt my call?" Lewis spat.

"I'm Agent Seeley Booth. This is Agent Teddy Parker. We're with the FBI. We have some information about your wife."

The room grew silent again while the agents waited for some sort of reaction from the man.

"Okay. And?" Lewis asked impatiently.

"She's dead," Teddy told him blatantly.

"Dead? You mean she didn't run away? She didn't go back to Leningrad?"

"It's called Saint Petersburg now," Booth informed the lawyer.

"Whatever. When did she die?"

"About four days ago," Teddy said.

"How?"

"Gunshot."

"Where did you find her?"

"In the Potomac."

"Hmm," Lewis said, "Well, thank you for updating me. I'll make the arrangements for her body to be sent back to Russia to her family."

Lewis ushered them out of the conference room without another word. With one last look of his shoulder, Booth saw Lewis pull out a cell phone and call a speed-dial number. When Booth and Teddy were back out in the lobby, Booth spoke first. "Well that was weird."

"What the hell?" Teddy said.

"If Bren was missing, I'd be doing everything I could to find her."

"By the way, how is Bren?"

"Mad at me. You know how they say 'never go to bed mad'?"

"Uh, sure."

"Well, it's true. I woke up mad, I'm still mad, she's still mad and that just made it worse. Hey, when we punch out tonight, you wanna head down to the bar? My hot streak is still on fire from last night."

"I don't know, Seel."

"I don't want to go home. Not right away or anything. But the minute I walk in the door, Bren's gonna start raggin' on me and I just don't want to deal with that tonight."

Teddy rolled his eyes. "The later you put this off, the worse it's gonna get."

Booth shrugged. "I'm already in the doghouse. How much worse can it get?"

* * *

"Nice shot, Sarge," Parker said as Booth sunk the eight ball into the corner pocket.

"Another round?" Booth proposed.

"No. We're done. Bren, Drew and Clara are at home waiting for you. And I'm not going to let you sink back into this. I'm done babysitting you while you come drink your sorrows away while your wife and kids sit at home waiting for you," Teddy said, letting his anger get the better of him, "Look, if I had what you have, I wouldn't be throwing it away like you are. No wonder why Bren is mad at you! She's trying to hold things together for Drew and Clara and you're ruining it. You love them, I know you do. I'm taking you home, Sarge. You know what, if you want to go to a few gamblers anonymous meeting, I'll go with. I'll help you out. But, we're not coming down here anymore. No more playing strangers for money, no more. I'm done. You're done. We're both done. You're doing Bren a favor by giving this up. No more fights, no more missing out on Clara's first steps or her dance recitals, no more missing out on Drew's football games and tee-ball games."

"Alright," Booth sighed, "Let's go home." He knew Ted was right. He had missed so much, put his family though so much. It was time to put an end to the madness and fix things on the home front.

* * *

Teddy pulled the SUV away as Booth put the key in the lock. Opening the door, he knew things were wrong. Blood spatter was on kitchen floor. Pots and pans spilled out of an open cabinet.

"Bren! Clara?" Booth called, "Andrew! Where are you?" He ran back out into the street and waved at Teddy's retreating car, motioning for him to come back. Booth breathed a sigh of relief, if only for a minute, when Ted turned the car around and came speeding back down the Georgetown street.

"What's wrong?" Teddy jumped out of the car.

"They're not here. There's blood and…and…"

"Just keep looking," Teddy told him. He knew Booth was panicking, but if his family was missing, time was crucial.

They stormed inside and searched everywhere, careful to avoid the blood and other evidence.

"Drew! Are you here? Clara?"

"Daddy?"

"Drew? Where are you, buddy?"

"Where you told me not to hide anymore." His voice sounded small, but Booth immediately knew where to look. A month ago, Booth, Drew and Clara were deep in a game of hide and go seek. It had been Clara's turn to 'go seek' and she had found her dad easily, but Drew was nowhere to be found. They searched everywhere and even enlisted Bren's help when they ran out of ideas, but he seemed to have vanished. Just before their fear got the best of them, Drew appeared and Booth told him to never hide there again.

He pulled open the storage closet near the back door and pulled a few boxes out. In a dusty corner, behind the Christmas ornaments and Thanksgiving decorations, Drew sat curled up waiting for his dad, tears stained his face.

Booth picked up Drew and held him close. "Where's Mom and Clara?"

Drew pulled out of the hug. "Someone started pounding on the door. These guys asked for you. And then Mom said something and they talked back. I don't know what they were saying. She told me to hide Clara and then go hide where you told me not to hide for hide and go seek anymore. I took all of the pots out of the cabinet, helped Clara get in and told her to stay there. She was crying and I couldn't get her to stop. Once she kept the cabinet door closed, I went to hide. Did Clara get out of her hiding spot? Where's Mommy?"


	2. Used To The Pain

**A/N: This chapter is full of missing scenes from last chapter**

* * *

"Anton wants his money, Mr. Lewis," a thickly accented voice came through the speaker phone, "Miss Olga was a rare find. Willing and beautiful. And we took care of things for you. Surely you understand?"

"I do," John Lewis said. He sat in his law firm conference room, away from the rest of the office cubicles, "I need a little more time to get my payment together though. My money is tied up in stocks and it takes time. Don't worry, Victor. Mr. Igorovich will get his payment."

Victor's loud sigh came through the speaker situated on the table. Lewis was startled from his seat as he heard a knock on the door. Two men stood outside the door. One held a badge to the small window and then opened the door.

"I'll call you back," Lewis said, reaching for the speaker.

"Wait! Anton will not-" another voice said over the phone, but it was cut short as Lewis ended the call.

"Can I ask what is so important that you had to interrupt my call?" Lewis spat.

"I'm Agent Seeley Booth. This is Agent Teddy Parker. We're with the FBI. We have some information about your wife."

The room grew silent again while the agents waited for some sort of reaction from the man.

"Okay. And?" Lewis asked impatiently.

"She's dead," Teddy told him blatantly.

"Dead? You mean she didn't run away? She didn't go back to Leningrad?"

"It's called Saint Petersburg now," Booth informed the lawyer.

"Whatever. When did she die?"

"About four days ago," Teddy said.

"How?"

"Gunshot."

"Where did you find her?"

"In the Potomac."

"Hmm," Lewis said, "Well, thank you for updating me. I'll make the arrangements for her body to be sent back to Russia to her family."

Lewis ushered them out of the conference room without another word. He pulled his phone out and called a number he had programmed to his speed-dial.

"Like I was saying before, Mr. Lewis," Victor greeted when he answered the phone, "Anton will not tolerate a late payment."

"Yeah, well you didn't do too good of a job on picking out the girl and apparently, you didn't do a good job of getting rid of her either."

"What do you mean?"

"FBI was just here. Agents Booth and Parker. They found her body!"

"Well, they won't trace it back to us. And let me worry about the cops. You just get the payment together for Anton before I have to dispose of your body as well."

* * *

It was getting late and Drew's first day of kindergarten was just round the corner, making Bren feel proud and sad all at once. She couldn't believe how fast time had passed. Raising Clara was completely different from raising Drew. There weren't as many messes, pink was the preferred color instead of blue and Booth and Bren didn't have to worry about being used for target practice during diaper changes. Princesses were friends and footballs were not first choice play things. But, she was a Booth, so the rough and tumble boy lifestyle Drew had reflected on her. Clara's princess dolls played baseball and liked to roll in the mud. Her pink crayons only highlighted the greens and blues that dominated her pictures that hung on the fridge and in Booth and Bren's offices.

"Drew, I need you to go get your pajamas on and brush your teeth to get ready for bed. Clara and I will come up shortly."

"Okay, Mom!" Bren could hear him run up the stairs, attempting to skip steps like he had seen his father do so many times before.

"Mommy?" They were sitting at the kitchen table, Drew and Clara had both been working on new drawings for the fridge while Bren finished paperwork and waited for Booth to come home.

"What is it?"

"Do you like it? It's me and you at the lab!"

Bren smiled and looked over her daughter's handiwork. "It's gorgeous, Clara. Should we put it on the fridge?"

"Take it to the lab!"

"I will. Let's put it on the fridge for now, so Daddy can see it when he comes home." Brennan put the picture on the freezer door and promised Clara that she would show Booth if he got home past her bedtime.

There was a knock on the front door and the solid thumping sound was enough to make both Bren and Clara jump. It was late, too late for normal visitors, and that thought alone made Bren's stomach churn. She instructed Clara to go upstairs with her brother and listened for her daughter's footsteps before answering the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked the two burly men on the other side of the threshold.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late, ma'am," one man spoke first, "But we're looking for an Agent Booth."

"May I ask why?" She noticed the accent the man had and spoke to him in his native language. Her Russian was slightly rusty, but she must've pronounced everything correctly. The two men looked slightly shocked at her words but replied to her in their dialect.

"We're colleagues. There are some issues we have on a couple of open cases and we need his help."

"Mommy?" Drew and Clara stood on the steps at about midway, clad in their PJs and looking ready to be tucked in.

"Go back upstairs," Bren told them, trying not to look scared. Her gut told her something was wrong, but she wasn't the one in the family who believed in gastrointestinal intelligence. She turned back to their visitors and that was where things went downhill. One man tackled her to the ground, while the other tried to step around them to get to Drew and Clara.

"Kids, go hide!" Panic rolled over her and her fight-or-flight response kicked in. She wrestled with the man and tried to trip up his companion to distract him from her kids. Drew took Clara by the hand and pulled her toward the kitchen.

"Mom, where?" Drew called back. There was no evident panic in his voice. She didn't know if that made her worry more or less. Booth's courage was obviously a passed down straight to Drew, but she was concerned he'd try to be the hero. Clara, on the other hand, had the most horrified look on her face. She was focused on the fight her mother was putting up and she clung to Drew like a magnet.

"Put Clara where she can fit and then hide where Dad told you not to!" She fought off both men as best as she could, but they were stronger and she was outnumbered. Drew dragged his sister into the kitchen and opened a low cabinet. Drew pushed away pots and pans and told Clara to get in. The small girl did what Drew said, but began to sob when he started putting the dishes back in front of her.

"No! Drew, stay!" She reached back out for him and tried kicking the pans away.

"I can't fit in there! Be quiet and don't come out until Mommy says so."

Drew tried closing the door but she pushed it back open and cried for him to stay with her. As much as he wanted to stay, there was no way both Drew and Clara could fit in the small cabinet.

"Clara, please. I'll come back if I can't fit in my spot anymore." Drew knew it was a lie, but his old hide and go seek spot wasn't big enough for the both of them either. But his words calmed her and her sobs quieted. He ran off and climbed into the storage closet. He shut the door behind him and wiggled in between boxes. It was dark in the closet and the dust made him want to cough, but he swallowed hard and breathed into his sleeve. Drew had to stop himself when he heard Clara's cries come through the wall.

"No, Clara, shh," he whispered to himself. He wanted to run to calm her down, but Mom told them to hide and he hated to break the rules. The door opened and Drew stopped breathing when he heard the men speak. The door closed again and he waited for his Mom to tell him it was safe to come out.

Bren was yelling at the men in Russian and using her skills from the self-defense and karate classes she took in college. She distracted them as much as she could, but when the bigger of the two attackers got control of her, she was powerless to stop the other. The man searched some more obvious hiding spots a small child would pick before looking deeper. She tried not to show her fear when he opened the storage closet, but breathed slightly easier when he closed the door.

The man she had determined to be Victor was going through the cabinets now and sheer terror tore through Brennan when he found what he was looking for. He tossed the pots and pans aside and reached back to pull Clara from her spot.

"Mommy!"

Brennan, with the force of pure adrenaline, brought down the man who had a hold on her by taking out his knees. While her captor, Pavel, was down for the count, Bren lunged for Clara. The little girl was wriggling in Victor's arms.

"I didn't want to do this, Dr. Brennan," Victor said in English. From the back waistband of his pants, he pulled a small nine millimeter gun and pointed it right at Clara's head, but then swiftly turned the gun back on Bren.

"You don't want your little girl to watch her mommy die, do you?" And without waiting for a response from her, Victor pistol whipped her and an unconscious Bren lay bleeding on the floor. Pavel picked her up, followed Victor and Clara out the front door and to the waiting van to take them away.

Booth was surprised when Teddy pulled up to their house three hours later to see the kitchen lights still on. He said goodbye to his partner and walked up the front steps, expecting an argument from his wife. But the door was wide open and the first thing he saw was the blood spatter on the floor.

"Bren! Clara?"


	3. Hit The Ground Runnin'

"Did Clara get out of her hiding spot? Where's Mommy?" Drew asked. He latched onto his father again, because no matter how much of his father's courage he had, the strain that had just been thrust upon the six year old was too much.

"We're looking, bub. Teddy's gonna help us," Booth whispered to him. Booth held onto his son tight, not willing to put him down for anything. "What's going on?" he asked his partner when they met back up in the entryway.

"Techs are on their way. I called Hacker, told him I'm working this case." Booth opened his mouth to say something, but Teddy cut him off. "I'm doing this for you because I don't know if you could handle not having a part in it. I told him I'm working it solo and he's fine with it if you're not involved. I don't give a damn what Hacker says," Teddy stopped speaking for a moment when Booth silently reprimanded him for his language and covered Drew's ear that wasn't pressed to his shoulder, "I'm going to keep you in the loop. But you're not interrogating anyone. You're not chasing down leads with me. I mean it, Sarge, you're a loose cannon."

"I'm not-"

"You are. But Hacker wants you to keep working the Lebedev case."

Booth rolled his eyes. Arguing with Teddy wasn't going to get him anywhere. It was Hacker he needed to talk to.

"Alright. Um, I'm gonna stay with Drew tonight. I can keep working on that tomorrow. You let me know if something happens?"

Ted nodded. "We'll find 'em, Booth. They're gonna be fine."

"Yeah," Booth said, his tone clipped. He climbed the stairs and took Drew up to his room.

"Daddy?"

"Drew?"

"You should help Teddy find Mommy and Clara."

"I can't, bub. It's against the rules."

Drew sighed, rolled his eyes and said matter-of-factly, "Dad, you break the rules all the time."

Booth grinned slightly. "I know. Mom and Clara will be home before you know it. Now," Booth told him as he helped Drew into his bed and tucked him in, "Get some rest. If I'm not in me and Mommy's room, I'll be downstairs, okay, if you need me."

"Okay, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you, too, bub. Goodnight."

He made sure Drew was tucked under the covers tightly and kissed him on the forehead. It was then Booth realized how much he had missed out on. He hadn't tucked in his kids for bed in a very long time. Booth stood in the doorway to Drew's room for a while, watching him sleep and thinking of ways to find his wife and daughter without endangering Drew too. He made a plan, to have Angela and Jack watch Drew the next day while a protective detail was assigned to them so Booth could wrap up the Lebedev case and find Bren and Clara. Drew and Mason Hodgins were great friends, but Mason and Clara were inseparable. He would let Angela and Jack explain where Clara was.

When Drew's breathing evened out and the boy was sound asleep, Booth made his way down the narrow stairway and found Teddy standing over the techs that were taking blood samples.

"What do we know?" Booth asked.

"There was a struggle. We won't know whose blood that is until we get results back from the lab. How much does Drew know?"

"He's scared. I'll talk to him more in the morning, but I'm thinkin' we have some foreigners. Drew said he didn't know what Bren was saying. And he's a genius."

Teddy chuckled. "How many languages does the kid know anyway?"

"A few. Spanish, French. Maybe Italian. Bren's saving the harder stuff for later. If Drew didn't recognize it, it could help us rule out people," Booth suggested.

His partner nodded in agreement. "See what he says in the morning. Maybe he could give us an idea of what we're looking for in a bi-lingual."

Booth sat down on the couch and held his head in his hands. "If I had just been home…they'd both be here. Shit. Clara's probably so scared," he sighed and decided remaining hopeful was best, "Bren's strong though. Stubborn as hell and she's not gonna let anyone separate her and Clara. We'll get 'em back."

Teddy clapped a hand to his friend's shoulder. "I'm gonna get this stuff down to the lab. Call me tomorrow and we'll set up the protection detail for Drew while you're at work and I'll let you know what I've got so far."

* * *

The next morning, Booth and Drew made the trek to the outskirts of the D.C. suburbs to the Hodgins estate. He had questioned Drew about the night before gently. He saw no need to stress the boy out anymore. It was the same story as before and he expressed how much he missed his mommy and his sister. Booth was hesitant to let his son out of his sight, but time was of the essence and his girls needed his help.

"Ange, I'm sorry to do this to you. You don't need any stress-"

His very pregnant friend cut him off. "G-man, just go find Bren and Clara. The only way I'll be stressed is if you don't find them. Jack and I have Drew under control. Just go take care of things."

Satisfied with her response, Booth kissed his son goodbye one last time with the promise of searching forever for his mommy and sister if he had to. When he got back in the car, he called Teddy to see what had been found so far.

"The blood that was on the floor was Bren's. None of it belonged to Clara. We've taken fingerprints and Marcus is running them through the system now. Did Drew say anything else?"

"Whoever this was wasn't speaking Spanish, Italian, French or Portuguese. Drew ruled those out. But that's really all I got from him. He just wants them back."

Teddy sighed over the line. "Alright. I'll see what I can find when Marcus gives me a match. Let me know what goes down with the Lebedev case."

"Okay. I'm going to poke around the neighborhood, talk to some neighbors and see if they noticed anything. Call me when you find something."

Booth ended the call and sped over to the Dupont Circle area. He parked his car outside of John Lewis' house and started to poke around.

"Excuse me?" a woman called from the next stoop over, "Can I help you?"

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI. I was wondering if you know the couple that lives here."

"Yes, John and Olga. Is everything okay?"

"Well, Ms…" he realized he hadn't caught her name.

"Uh, Chartier, I'm Susan Chartier," she told him. Booth jotted it down just in case he needed to contact her later.

"Mrs. Chartier, how well do you know Mr. Lewis and Ms. Lebedev?"

Susan shook her head slowly. "Not much, I'm afraid. Olga's very shy, very soft spoken. Her English has gotten better lately though!"

"She didn't know English before coming here?"

"No. Nothing. John lived here before he married Olga and then…bam, he was married and Olga was here. Poor thing was so, so timid at first, but Lori, she lives just across from me, and I started helping Olga with her English. She never really said much. Not until a few weeks ago."

Booth was taking frantic notes while he listened to Susan. "What changed a few weeks ago?"

"Well, she started talking about going back to Russia. She was frantic about it. Something about how a family member was sick and she needed to go back. Olga started talking about how she needed to find a way to get home."

"And her husband wouldn't help?"

"No. She said John was going to make her find her way back to Russia. But the poor woman has no money. John buys her everything and he didn't want her to go back, so there was no way he was going to buy her a plane ticket."

Susan waved to a woman across the street, motioning her to come over. She crossed the street and looked between Booth and Susan anxiously. "Lori, this is Agent Booth. He's with the FBI. He wants to talk about Olga and John. Agent Booth, this is Lori Sandoval," Susan introduced them.

"Did you notice anything odd about Olga or her husband lately?"

"She was terrified of him," Lori said, "And I don't blame her. John Lewis is a mean man. Very sneaky too."

"Sneaky how?"

Lori shrugged. "People would show up late at night and be outside making all sorts of noise. And it always wakes my poor kids up."

"Why?" Booth wanted to know.

"I don't know. I could never understand them either. Not because I couldn't hear, but because they were speaking another language. I didn't even know John knew anything other than English."

Booth phone rang in his pocket. "Excuse me for a moment." He left the two women for a moment and walked back toward the Lewis house for some privacy.

"Booth," Angela's voice came over the phone, "Russian. What Drew heard last night was Russian."

"Russian? How did you get that?"

"Drew was bored when Mason went down for a nap, and he told Jack he wanted to help you find Bren and Clara. He figured since you kept asking him about what language the men spoke, it must be important, so he asked Jack to help him find what he heard. They went through a bunch of sound recordings of different languages and the moment the recording of someone speaking Russian came on, Drew knew that was it."

He heard the phone change hands and Drew's little voice came through the line.

"Daddy! The bad guys were speaking Russian! Does that help? Can you find Mommy and Clara now?"

* * *

"Teddy, you got anything?" Booth asked as he raced into the bullpen.

"Marcus is about to bring up the results now. What's going on?"

"Our suspects that took Bren and Clara, they spoke Russian."

Teddy wrinkled his brow. "How'd you find that out?"

"Drew had some sort of brain storm when he was with Jack. I gotta check on a few things, but I think I know who did it."


	4. I'm In

**A/N: A couple of favorite characters that we know and love come in here. Some have been in **_**Love on the Inside, **_**others haven't. Any guesses? :)**

**Bren and Clara will be in the next one.**

**

* * *

**

"_I gotta check on a few things, but I think I know who did it."_

Teddy's eyes widened. "Who?"

"Russian 'businessmen'. I left Lewis' house a bit ago and I talked to a couple of the neighbors. Said that Olga was afraid of Lewis and wouldn't let her go back to Russia to visit a sick family member. Give me a little leeway on this: Olga came to America on a fiancé visa, right? What if she was caught up in some sort of scam, or a black market business? She marries Lewis, thinking maybe if she can get some money out of him to help her sick family back in Russia, but gets a little less bang for her buck, so to speak, and he kills her because she's not the doting wife he thought she'd be. Lewis bought her from the Russians, he changes his mind, they kill her and take Clara and Bren to get me to stop investigating."

Teddy let out a whistle. "That is a lot of speculating, Sarge. Do you really think that's possible?"

Booth shrugged. "Who else have I pissed off lately to get my wife and daughter kidnapped?"

"Those guys at the bar the other night…"

"I paid them. They got their money. And it was only one game! They weren't _that_ mad."

"Seel, do you really think the Russian mob kidnapped Bren and Clara? I mean, I know Drew said it was Russian he heard but, his adrenaline was pumping and he's only six. Was it really Russian or does he think it's Russian."

Booth was starting to lose his patience. "Look, Ted, I trust my kid. If Drew says these clowns spoke Russian, then I believe him. The kid's smarter than I am! Drew got his mom's genes on that one."

"I just don't want you going and getting yourself in trouble with Hacker because you're investigating Bren and Clara's disappearance. I gotta admit, your boy's a genius, but I just don't want you get your hopes up if this doesn't pan out. What's your plan to get to the head honchos?"

"I don't know but it's worth looking into."

Marcus came into the bullpen with files looking less than pleased with himself. "Fingerprints from your kitchen, Booth, came back as Victor Petrov and Pavel Stanislav. Russian nationals who have known, established ties with the branch of the Russian mob that's located in D.C. The organized crime unit has been looking for them for a long time. But they've been looking for their ringleader for longer. Petrov and Stanislav report to Anton Igorovich. His prints weren't found at your house but normally when these two guys are involved, so is he."

"Why'd they take Bren and Clara?" Booth wanted to know.

Marcus shrugged. "That's your job. I don't do that detecting stuff, but my guess is that you're working on a case of theirs and they want you to drop it."

"Makes sense. I'm gonna head over and see what this Igorovich has to offer. Maybe I'll cut him a deal if he gives up Petrov and Stanislav," Teddy said, taking the files from Marcus.

"If you know where they are, I'm coming," Booth said forcefully.

"No. Not until I know _exactly _where they are. Check out the husband again. Run a background on him and see if anything pops up!" Teddy said as he grabbed his sidearm and jogged toward the elevator.

* * *

Booth sat anxiously at his desk waiting for a report back from Teddy. He had looked up John Lewis' background like Teddy suggested. Born and raised Maryland, went to college in Boston and resettled in D.C. His law firm partner was a friend of his throughout law school and checked out clean. On a hunch, he checked passport and U.S. Customs records. John Lewis had flown out to Russia on the same day as Igorovich, Stanislav and Petrov. A week later, the three returned the same day and checked in with customs just minutes after each other.

"Agent Booth?"

"What?" he snipped.

"I'm Agent Perotta with organized crime. I've heard you're chasing Anton Igorovich."

"And?" His patience was waning.

"I want to know why."

"Afraid I'm going to catch him first?"

"No. Only afraid you're going to screw up my case."

"Your case?"

"He's suspected of smuggling." He could tell Agent Perotta wasn't willing to tell him much, but he pushed anway.

"Smuggling what?"

"Vodka, street drugs, and women, among other things," she said.

"Do you want my help or are you trying to steal my case?"

"Your wife and daughter are missing."

"Word gets around quick."

"I have a list of every known location that Igorovich and his cronies use for so-called storage. Do _you _want help?"

Hacker eyed them as he walked though the bullpen.

"Thank you, Agent Perotta, but you should give that list to Agent Parker," Booth said loud enough for Hacker to hear. The higher up gave Booth an encouraging nod and sad smile as he exited the room.

"Uh…okay," Perotta drawled out the last word, confused about Booth's actions.

When he was sure Hacker was gone, however, Booth turned back to Perotta and said, "You got that list with you?"

* * *

It was late into the night when Teddy returned. He walked into the bullpen to find an unfamiliar blonde sitting at his desk.

"Uh, you get a new partner while I was gone, Sarge?"

"Didja find 'em?" His voice was frantic.

"I would've called."

"Where were you?"

"Doing some surveillance. I got nothing. No one came or left while I was watching them. I have two other agents watching the place to let me know if Petrov, Igorovich, or Stanislav leave.

Booth nodded. "Parker, this is Agent Perotta from organized crime."

"Switichin' sides, Booth?" Teddy gave him a smirk.

"She knows everything there is to know about Igorovich," Booth ignored Teddy's teasing.

"Oh…uh, wow. And you wanna help?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Teddy rubbed his hands together before pulling up another chair. "Nothing like a little inter-agency cooperation."

"Ted, inter-agency would mean us and the ATF or the DEA or somebody else. Perotta's FBI," Booth pointed out.

"Ah, well," Teddy shrugged off his embarrassment, "Nothing like inter-division cooperation!"

Perotta rolled her eyes as Booth dropped a stack of files in front of him. "Let's just get to work, okay. Clara's scared. Bren's hurt. I want to get them out now."

Late night became early morning and Perotta had narrowed down the storage units to two. Booth argued for one, saying it was closer to their home in Georgetown while Perotta claimed the other was obvious due to the close location to Igorovich's house.

"I'm telling you, Agent Perotta, Bren and Clara are by the airport."

"I'm not convinced, Agent Booth. What evidence do you have that they're at that warehouse?"

"What evidence do you have for the storage locker over by the Navy Yard?"

"We can't send back up to both places," Teddy pointed out, "We need to pick one, and then go to the other if they're not at the first one."

"We have a problem, though," Booth pointed out.

"What's that?" Perotta was confused, and worried she had forgotten something important in her attempt to keep up with the homicide agents.

"We have no proof Bren or Clara are at either of these."

"Can't we get a search warrant?" Teddy asked.

"Oh, Cherie, that's a question for me. And you better have a good reason for wanting a search warrant. I'm not about to wake up a judge this early in the morning for circumstantial evidence.

"Uh, someone kidnapped Booth's wife and kid?" Teddy offered hesitantly.

Caroline Julian's lips pursed. "Seeley Booth, you are going to get this case thrown out of court for even helping our little Teddy bear, here. Got any evidence?"

"My case is connected to Bren and Clara's case," Booth defended himself angrily.

"I'm sure it is," Caroline deadpanned, "Evidence?"

Teddy handed the prosecutor a file. "Fingerprint analysis shows that two suspects in Booth's case about the dead Russian girl were also at his house last night," Teddy did some calculating in his mind, "Well, two nights ago."

Booth cringed at the time that had lapsed since Bren and Clara had been taken. He looked out the bullpen window at the rising sun and prayed that they were okay.

"And you want a search warrant for?" Caroline was losing her patience having to prompt the agents.

"The warehouse they're in." "The storage locker they're in." Booth and Perotta spoke at the same time, obviously annoyed with the other.

"Look, I need specific evidence that Mrs. Booth and Little Booth are being held at one of these. _One_!" Caroline emphasized.

Teddy leaned over and whispered loudly, "Uh, if you ever meet Bren, don't call her Mrs. Booth. She's Dr. Brennan.'

"It don't make any difference right now, Cherie!" Caroline threw up her arms, "I know time is of the essence here, but I can't take this case to court if you just go barging in somewhere without a warrant."

"There won't be anyone to try," Booth said through gritted teeth.

"I am going to pretend I didn't hear that," Caroline mumbled.

"I'm gonna go give my guys a call, see if they can scrounge up anything else," Perotta said, heading out to the hall for some privacy.

"I'll call the agents sitting outside of Igorovich's house and get an update," Teddy walked off to the other corner of the bullpen.

"Keep me in the loop, Cherie. I'll get the search warrant ready. As soon as you know something, I'll get a judge to sign it." Caroline stalked out of the bullpen and to the elevator. The doors opened and she nearly collided with a frantic man who came careening into the bullpen just as Booth was about to sit down.

"Where's Tempe?"

"Oh, great!" Booth threw his arms up in the air. "Are you kidding me? I didn't think you were stupid enough to walk right into a building full of armed federal agents who want to nail your ass. How did you even get in here?"

Max Keenan didn't respond to that, but asked instead, "Where's Tempe and Clara?"

Booth's patience had totally evaporated by this point. "Oh, let's see, you want to know where your daughter who you abandoned and the granddaughter you don't know are? Hmm, well they're missing! Don't tell me you have information for me about them or know where they are?"

"No, but the husband of your dead girl is dead now too. John Lewis, right? I heard you were working that case."

"How do you know about that?"

"Connections," Max said vaguely.

"John Lewis is dead?"

"Yes. If you want, I can find out where exactly they dumped his body."

"I think you should leave that one to us," Booth told him.

"He's somewhere in the Potomac."

Booth sighed and pulled open the top drawer of his desk, searching for his handcuffs. "Max Keenan, you're under arrest for the murder of Robert Kirby. You have the right to remain silent-"

"Sarge! That's Bren's dad!" Teddy's jaw was practically hanging on the floor.

"You find out anything?" Booth asked his partner, momentarily forgetting about his new problem.

"No one in or out," Teddy told him, carefully choosing his words around the felon.

"Damn." Booth ran his hand over his face.

Max took advantage of his still free wrists and Booth's vulnerability. A quick upper cut to Booth's jaw rendered him surprised and incapacitated for a few seconds while he fought with Teddy to get out of the door. He raced for the staircase and when Booth and Teddy had both recovered from their momentary defeat, they chased after the old con man. Max was at least two flights of stairs ahead of them by the time they began the chase and was out the front door. Max hopped in his waiting car and took off down the street. He was out of sight by the time Booth and Teddy made it out of the building.

"Old man got the drop on me," Teddy commented, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"I have to go wading through the Potomac," Booth told him, "According to him, Lewis is dead and so is my prime suspect in Olga's death."

"I don't wanna know how he knows that."

"Me either."

They took the elevator back up to the bullpen and were met by Andrew Hacker and a kid that seemed oddly familiar.

"Ah, Agent Booth, there you are. Can I speak to you in my office?"

Booth nodded wordlessly and looked at Teddy. His partner only shrugged. Booth followed the two away from the bullpen and to his boss' office.

"Take a seat, Agent Booth." Hacker took a seat at his desk and examined his employee.

"I'm alright."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

Hacker raised his eyebrows at the agent. "I'm under the impression you're extremely stressed. Your wife and daughter are missing and there hasn't been much headway in the case."

"I'm fine. I trust Teddy to find them," Booth said being careful to avoid mentioning his involvement.

"Agent Parker is one of our best," Hacker agreed, "But I want you to meet someone. I have a feeling you'll appreciate having someone to talk to. He rose from his desk and over to the kid that had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation. "Booth, this is one of our psychologists, Dr. Lance Sweets."


	5. Won't Let You Down

**A/N: I've heard story alerts weren't working when I updated Chapter 4, so I would suggest going back to read that update if you haven't yet :) **

* * *

"Agent Booth, could you tell me how you discovered that your wife and daughter were missing?"

"I found my son hiding in our storage closet. He was alone."

"Have you helped in the search for your family?"

* * *

"_Mommy?"_

"_Clara, I'm right here."_

"_Where are we?"_

"_I don't know. Do you have anything around your wrists?"_

"_No."_

"_Do Mommy a favor, then. Come over here and untie this twine."_

"_I'm scared."_

"_I know you are, baby. I'll hold you in a minute, but you have to help me."_

_Brennan felt her daughter's little fingers working on the thin rope around her wrists. "Why hasn't Daddy found us yet?"_

* * *

"Not allowed." Booth found he was annoyed with his new shrink. Hacker had practically forced the kid on him. He had seen Sweets around the office, but figured he was one of the guys from the mail room. He didn't look old enough to have a degree.

"Come on, Agent Booth. You're the kind of man who can't help but search when a loved one is missing. Looking through your file, I have found other instances. Before Agent Parker was your partner here, he was your spotter while you, as a sniper, took care of some of the military's biggest threats. You were both taken hostage while serving your country. You saved his life."

"Are you even allowed to look in my file?"

"Agent Booth, you risked your own life to find him. At the time, your wife was pregnant with your first child. You could've died and your son would've never known you. You have a mildly reckless side."

"Is there a question there?"

Sweets could see he was wearing on Booth's patience. Normally, he would never push a patient like this, but most patients wanted help. Agent Booth was a different case.

"I'm just trying to get to know you." This was the first time he had met Agent Booth but had seen him around the Hoover several times. Everyone knew he was the best. But it wasn't until he had heard rumors of having to arrest his wife's father several months back did he become concerned for the agent he didn't know. "Do you regret not playing professional football?"

"Not a bit."

"But you could've made a lot of money. More than you're making here."

"It's a sacrifice I made so I could serve my country."

"Duty is important to you."

"It is."

* * *

_As soon as her wrists were free, Bren felt Clara fall into her arms and cling to her for dear life._

"_Hold on, baby. I need to untie my ankles." Bren worked quickly and the moment her ankles were untied, she took Clara in her arms and rocked her. It was the first time she had a chance to survey their surroundings. The knock on the head courtesy of one of the assailants had knocked her out for quite some time and the headache that had resulted from it had been blinding. They were in a small cellar. The stone walls were covered in dust, dirt, and cobwebs and the floor was equally dirty. A plain light bulb hung from the center of the low ceiling. It was a dim light, but gave Brennan enough light to scan Clara for any injuries. When she didn't find any visible bumps or bruises, she began to scan the room again. A large deep freezer occupied one wall and a fridge was against the opposite one. Shelves of what look liked jars of jellies and jam filled the space beneath the worn out stairs. Bren craned her neck to get a look up the stairs and saw a door with no door knob. Another set of doors that seemed to lead outside had no steps or ladder going to them. The cellar smelled of mold and urine and she wondered if others had been in the same situation as she and her daughter._

"_Mommy, why hasn't Daddy found us yet? He's going to find us, right?"_

"_He'll find us," she told her, hoping she wasn't lying to her daughter._

* * *

The candid style of their session seemed to be working the best so Sweets stuck with it. "So when you told me you weren't searching for your family, was that a lie? Because I can only assume that sense of duty would extend to your wife and children as well."

"I'd die for them."

"So you are aiding Agent Parker in the search?"

"Did Hacker put you up to this so you could tattle on me? I get enough tattling with Drew and Clara. And I could really care less if looking for Bren and Clara gets me fired. I'm not going to sit around here and wait for their bodies to show up." Booth rose and moved to the door. He had had enough. This kid, who apparently thought he knew everything, had succeeded in pissing him off.

"Agent Booth! We're not done." Sweets could tell the man could be intimidating when he wanted to be, so he did his best to fight off the nerves when the agent gave him a glare that reminded him of the resident bully he had dealt with in high school. Booth sat back down and leaned back in the chair. "What do you want me to say, kid?"

"Have you helped Agent Parker in the case? Off the record, of course."

* * *

_She rocked Clara in her arms until she fell asleep. Bren hadn't done that in a while. Not since Clara had declared she was a big girl and didn't need to be rocked like a baby. She listened to the sound of Clara's even breathing and the footsteps on the floor above her. By the sound of it, someone was pacing, making the floorboards creak. Bren could hear the soft mumbling of words being spoken, but couldn't make out what they were saying. A door slammed somewhere on the upper level and several more footsteps were added to the mix. There was some sort of scuffle and then the door at the top of the stairs opened. She held onto Clara for dear life, dreading what was about to happen. Her two captors plus another woman came down the stairs. Wordlessly, they dropped her next to Bren and Clara and left again. The woman was shaking, both from the low temperature in the cellar and from fear. _

"_Are you okay?" Brennan asked the woman as soon as the footsteps on the floor above them quieted._

_She looked at Bren and Clara and spoke something that Bren barely caught. Bren asked her question again, this time in a dialect she was re-familiarizing herself with. _

"_I think my arm is broken," the woman said._

"_May I see?"_

_The woman held out her arm and Brennan looked it over. "You should be careful not to move it."_

_She nodded and thanked Bren. _

"_What's your name?" Brennan asked._

"_Svetlana Northrup," she said, her voice trembling as she spoke._

* * *

"Of course, I have."

"Are you handling the stress well?"

"Better than most parents in situations like this."

"Why's that?"

Booth sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Sweets could see the exhaustion was almost too much to bear. "Most parents are frantic. Panicked. But I'm not like them. I have resources that those other parents don't. I'm not about to sit out and be one of those other parents or husband waiting for the cops to show up with bad news that their kid or wife is dead. I'm going to find them."

"Do you think Temperance and Clara are-"

"No. Don't you dare say that."

"Fair enough. Agent Booth, I'm not going to keep you. I'm sure you're quite busy."

Booth rolled his eyes at the kid as he continued. "There are several unresolved issues we need to continue discussing, but time is precious in missing persons cases. I suggest you get back to finding your family."

Booth walked out of the kid's office and back to the bullpen where Teddy was practically buzzing with anticipation.

"Booth, my guys called. There was some movement over at Igorovich's house."

"Well?"

Teddy secured his holster on and added his gun and a couple of extra clips. "A van pulled up and two unidentified guys got out, opened the back hatch and pulled a woman out. Petrov and Stanislav took the woman into the house and none of them have come out. Looks like a hostage situation. I have SWAT on standby. I think we got them."


	6. Faster Car

**A/N: SO sorry about the delay. I've been super lazy and for some reason, lost motivation to write this fic. I promise I have a long term plan for this one but classes have started back up and things with my sorority have been keeping me insanely busy. It's a small update, but hey, it's better than nothing :)**

* * *

With the sirens blaring and lights flashing, Booth and Teddy made it across town in record time. Agents swarmed in on Anton Igorovich's house and with a battering ram posed at the ready, Booth silently counted down from three to give the SWAT agents the go ahead. They were met with no one as the door exploded open and the agents moved quickly through the house. Booth led the way into the first room. White sheets covered the furniture as if the room hadn't been used in years. They moved into what looked like a library. The shelves were empty and the room held no furniture. The kitchen was another story. Russian newspapers and magazines littered the kitchen table and there was a steaming cup of coffee sitting right next to the sink. Right off the kitchen, there was another sitting room. A TV was on mute and a warm tray of food sat on an end table. Parker put his hand on a seat.

"It's still warm. Someone was just here," he said quietly. Booth began checking closets, his gun at the ready. One door was locked, but the knob wiggled when he touched it. With one hearty tug, he yanked the door open and found a set of steep wooden steps. He moved slowly, trying to keep the stairs from creaking as he stepped down one by one. The stone cellar was cold and the dim light at the center of the room was on.

"It's clear!" Booth called back up. The rest of the house was clean. Booth walked out the back door for some fresh air, while the crime scene techs worked on the space. He paced in the small backyard taking in is surroundings. There was a flower bed on one side of the yard that hadn't been taken care of in sometime. The dilapidated garage stood at the other end of the yard, spiking some sort of emotion in Booth. Pulling his sidearm back out of the holster, he moved slowly to the side door. He scanned the back alley quickly, making sure no one was about to sneak up on him. Using his shoulder, his body took most of the impact as he broke the door down and scanned the musty garage. Someone was laying on the cement floor. Keeping his gun out, Booth moved slowly to the man and kicked away the gun that was inches from the motionless body. Booth checked his pulse and when he found it was faint, he radioed for EMS and agents to accompany the man. When the ambulance appeared in the alley, he finally saw the man's features in the headlights of the emergency vehicle. Pavel Stanislav was barely hanging on. The emergency technicians brushed Booth out of the way to save the Russian's life. Teddy appeared by his side and waited for Booth's explanation.

"He was expendable. He was only the muscle. Igorovich didn't need him anymore."

"Booth, you didn't…"

"No, I found him like that. Why didn't your agents have the back covered?"

"We did," Teddy pointed to a car coming down the alley. The ambulance loaded Stanislav and rushed to the nearest hospital. The car took the place of the emergency vehicle and two junior agents stepped out.

"Agent Parker, we tailed the van for a while until they caught on. A normal pursuit turned into a chase and we lost 'em," one agent said. She looked mildly terrified and her partner, who looked more like a high school mathlete, seemed to be hiding behind her.

"Did you even get the plate number?" Booth asked.

"There were no plates," the second agent told them. He shrugged and when Booth's glare seemed to be boring holes into him, added, "It was just a white, unmarked van with no plates."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll get pulled over for no tags," the first agent tried.

"Lucky isn't good enough!" Booth roared and sent the two agents scattering.

"Sarge, come on, let's go see what the techs have."

Teddy led the way back into the house where Marcus met them in the kitchen. "Found this all over the floor, on the bottom of shoes we found in the closet and on hand towels in the bathroom," he told them, holding up a swab of what looked like grease.

"What is it?"

"I think its motor oil. I'll have to make sure back at the lab, but it smells like it."

Booth began to pace, going over every case detail in his mind. And when his mind drifted back to his father-in-law and his allegedly dead suspect, things all started to come together.

"I gotta get back to the Hoover. Ted! Let's go. I know how to find them."


End file.
